Where We Love Is Home
by MaryEvH
Summary: "Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. What if Padmé survived childbirth, and Anakin never became Darth Vader? Series of one-shots following them as they raise their twins, Luke and Leia. Anakin/Padmé, rated K. Cover image credit to ElfOfCave on AO3. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello again, everybody! So this is my first attempt at writing anything Star Wars, but I like to think about what kind of parents Anakin and Padmé would've been if they had gotten to raise Luke and Leia together. So here we go, with a slightly different take on their birth! Let me know what you think, and if anybody is too out of character, and I'll try to fix it.**

* * *

Of the two men in the room, the elder one was sitting patiently, his elbows resting on his knees, but the younger was much more restless. He paced back and forth with his arms folded across his chest, his brow furrowed with worry.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said softly.

The younger man stopped pacing, but kept his back to his companion. "I should be in there," he said.

"Padmé will be fine," his master reassured. "And so will the babies."

Anakin was still insistent. "These are our first children…my place is in there. I need to be with my wife."

Obi-Wan held back a wince at his friend's final word – the Jedi Council was still in talks about whether or not to expel Anakin from the order for his secret marriage to Padmé Amidala. However, some were advocating for the ban on relationships to be lifted entirely. Obi-Wan was sure the meeting would be total chaos.

A scream from the other side of the door drew them from their separate thoughts. Anakin abruptly stopped pacing, whipping to face the door. Obi-Wan could see the horror etched on his face as the lead medical droid floated out to meet them. "She's requesting that both of you come in now," he said, his mechanical hands gesturing towards the room where Padmé was giving birth.

Anakin didn't need to be told twice. He blew past the droid before the sentence was even complete, immediately disappearing into the other room. "Anakin!" Obi-Wan called sharply after his apprentice, but it was too late. He sighed, getting up to follow. "Always on the move…" he muttered under his breath.

By the time he entered the room, Anakin was already sitting at the head of Padmé's bed, stroking sweaty hair back from her brow. "Ani…" Obi-Wan heard her saying, "it hurts…"

"Shh, I know," Anakin said softly. "You'll be fine. You can do it." He turned to stare down the medical droid at the other end. "What's happening?" he demanded. "Why can't we see the baby?"

The droid performed a quick scan. "The umbilical cord appears to be wrapped around the baby's neck," it explained. "We can remove it once the child is out. Just push."

Obi-Wan and Anakin could both see the strain on Padmé's face as she obeyed, crying out in pain. The latter reached down to take his wife's hand; Obi-Wan could see – and sense – just how nervous he was. Listening to Padmé's screams was not pleasant for either of them, and they knew she was having the worst time.

Finally, they all heard a higher pitched sound that was certainly not Padmé.

The droid had efficiently removed the cord from the baby's neck, before the mechanical arms reached out to Obi-Wan with the baby. "It's a boy," he said with a smile.

Relief washed over Anakin's face as he and Padmé turned to smile at each other. Carefully, if a bit nervously, the new father took his child from his mentor's arms, showing the newborn to its mother. "He's beautiful…" Padmé whispered. "What should we name him?"

Her husband thought for a moment, looking at the baby boy a little longer. "I like Luke," he said quietly.

She smiled again, a little wider. "Luke it is," she said, gently touching the baby's face. However, Anakin watched her features contort back to a grimace as she braced to push again. He held Luke close to his chest, trying not to be worried as Padmé cried out in further pain. Another droid came by to take Luke to be cleaned, weighed, and measured, as Padmé finished delivering his twin. Obi-Wan dutifully took the second baby from the droid. "A girl," he relayed, gently placing her in Padmé's arms. Unlike her brother, her eyes were wide open by the time she made it to her parents.

"She looks like you already," Anakin laughed. "What do you want to name her?"

Padmé paused in thought, looking into her little baby girl's eyes for a moment longer. "What do you think of Leia?"

His smile grew. "I think it's perfect," he murmured, kissing his wife's forehead. The assistant droid that had taken Luke now returned with him, taking Leia in exchange. The first twin's eyes were still closed, and he appeared to be fast asleep. Anakin took the baby from the droid, before handing him to his mother. His hand was still unconsciously stroking her hair as they looked at their sleeping baby.

Obi-Wan walked over from the other side of the bed to look at him. "Congratulations, Anakin, Padmé," he smiled, embracing his friend.

"I'm glad you like them so much, it's sure to be useful," Anakin said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Obi-Wan frowned suspiciously. "Why?" he asked as the droid brought a freshly-cleaned Leia back into the room, handing her to her father.

"You'll be the primary babysitter, Uncle Obi-Wan," Anakin laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, so sorry for the delayed update on this! School and football season have really kicked into high gear, and I've gotten really busy, so time to write is really scarce.**

 **But now, a few months later...**

* * *

Anakin groaned as he slowly floated to consciousness. One of the twins was squalling loudly in the nursery across the hall from his and Padmé's room, and he already knew neither of them wanted to get up.

"Unh…I got it," he said softly.

"Was that a real 'I got it,' or are you waiting on me to tell you to go back to sleep?" Padmé grumbled next to him.

"I'm still thinking about it," he replied, his tone almost nonchalant.

Padmé signed in exasperation. "Go back to sleep," she said, pushing off the sheets and starting across the hall. Anakin lay on his back, listening to her footsteps as she crossed the hall, opened the door, and went to the crib. "Shh…" he could hear her whispering to the baby and patting its back. He got out of bed, following her steps, and stood in the doorway to watch her rock Luke back to sleep.

"He's never so calm for me," Anakin remarked with a chuckle as the six-month-old immediately settled in against Padmé's chest. "He only likes you." She smiled in response, still gently patting the baby's back to soothe him to sleep. Anakin had started to notice small changes in his wife alongside the dramatic ones that had occurred in the last six months – as anyone would expect, the dark circles formed under her eyes, she seemed more haggard, and never got enough sleep, despite Anakin's pleas for her to take care of herself. Yet she was also calmer somehow, and still just as serious and determined as she had been when they met. The efforts she had gone to protecting her planet had been refocused into building and protecting her family.

Finally, Luke went back to sleep. Padmé gently placed him in his crib, kissing his forehead as she set him down. They made it to the doorway before Leia started to wail, as if on cue. An expression of exhausted resignation came over Padmé's face as she started back towards the other crib, but Anakin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go back to bed. I'll handle it this time," he smiled. The corners of his wife's lips turned up slightly as she shuffled back to bed.

He turned back into the nursery, picking up his infant daughter from her crib and cradling her in his arms. "Shh, Leia, it's alright," he murmured as he rocked her. The sound of his voice seemed to soothe her, and he kept talking until her crying slowly got softer, and finally stopped. Even so, Anakin sat with her for a while longer, letting her breathe against his chest. He already loved being a father, and he loved his children more than anything.

Eventually, he put Leia back in her crib, shutting the door quietly and climbing back into his own bed. Padmé rolled over in her sleep, and Anakin instinctively curled his arms around her shoulders. "I love you," he whispered into her hair.

Even though she was asleep, he could have sworn he heard her answer, "I love you, too."


End file.
